Hockey team gets a break

The November 15th South Dundas council meeting saw a lot of discussion surrounding the Morrisburg Rink rental fees.

The issue was raised due to a letter received by the Township, sent by Bruce Mullin about the “more-than-double” rate of the ice rental fee for Seaway District High School’s hockey team.

According to Mullin’s letter, last year the team paid $37 per hour for ice time, but this year the rate has gone up to $87 per hour.

The Morrisburg Rink’s rental fees are $125 per hour for adult prime time rental, $95 per hour for children’s prime time rental, and a universal $85 per hour for non-prime rental. All prices are before the addition of HST.

Manager for Recreation, Don Lewis, provided council with a breakdown of rink costs. It costs “$24 per hour for electricity when the compressors are running. When there’s no rental, it costs $8 per hour.”

“The hourly rate for one of our employees (with benefits calculated in) is $29.66 per hour.”

“It’s $53.67 in total. That does not include the natural gas we burn for heaters or the zamboni. These are just two of the key things,” he continued.

In checking with other arenas, Lewis found that Morrisburg’s prices are comparable.

“People think that when the rink’s not being used that it’s not costing us as if it was being used,” said Chief Administrative Officer Stephen McDonald.

The main concern seemed to revolve around two points: what is fair and consistent for everyone; and, what can council do to help support the existence of a hockey team for the local high school.

Councillor Jim Graham pointed out: “They got a rate last year and they were expecting it this year. My suggestion is that we give them a reduced rate on their practice time. This year they got hit with something they weren’t expecting.”

Mayor Steven Byvelds said, “one of the challenges I have is that we went through the budget. We felt they were fair. There’s no expectation to make money. It’d be nice to break even. There’s a lot of cost we haven’t accounted for.”

He pointed out the probability that “if we allow a break on this one” then minor hockey might ask “‘if the high school can get a break, then why can’t we?’”

He later said, “I just think it’s fair that we try to be consistent.”

He admitted that the hockey program for high school students “gets them out and gives them school spirit.”

He said, “we try to be fair and still run our business and try to keep deficits to a minimum.”

Council members each saw the need to be fair and the need to keep deficits to a minimum, but many also wanted to do something for the high school’s hockey team.

In the end, it was decided that for 2011/2012, ice rental fees for Seaway’s team will be $50 per hour for practice ice time and $85 per hour for tournament ice time. The following years will see the team paying the same price as everyone else.

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Has a County employee gone above and beyond to give you excellent service?

The United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry is pleased to announce their new Staff Recognition Awards initiative – and is looking for nominations from both staff and the public.

Recognizing those that go “Above the Crowd”, the County Staff Recognition Awards provide an opportunity for County employees to be recognized for any actions or undertakings that are above and beyond the expectations of their regular job responsibilities.

“We sometimes receive letters and emails telling us about the good work that our employees are doing in the community,” said Counties CAO Tim Simpson.

“Our staff also recognize the achievements of their co-workers and colleagues. These awards give us the opportunity to recognize these employees for their dedication and leadership”.

Three new awards will be handed out on an annual basis: the Customer Service Excellence award, the Safety Smart award, and the Innovation, Sustainability and Leadership award.

Employees who are a recipient of a County Staff Recognition Award will be recognized at the June 17th County Council meeting.

County staff who have achieved specified years of service or are retiring in 2013 will also be recognized at this time.

To nominate a County employee for an award, the public is asked to fill out a nomination form, available online at www.sdgcounties.ca. Further details on these awards can also be found on the County website.

Dating is tough.Being set up by friends is tough. But the toughest test of finding true love has got to be the dreaded blind date.

At least that’s the premise of Check, Please! by Jonathan Rand, an hilarious look at the perils and pitfalls of modern dating being presented on Friday, May 11, 6 p.m., at Seaway District High School in Iroquois.

Under the direction of teachers Emma Mayer and Kim Lalonde, 21 senior drama students will perform the timely and funny production as part of the 7th annual dinner theatre night at the high school.

“The actors have been working extremely hard,” said Lalonde. “It’s going to be a great show. There were a lot of funny moments just in rehearsals, especially as the kids began to identify their characters with the costumes and make-up. And,” Lalonde added, laughing, “the day we put the boys into make up for the first time, is now known as David Bowie Day. It was hilarious. However, they’re getting used to the whole stage thing now.”

I had the opportunity to speak to four members of the cast about the play, and about their roles.

Rebecca Helmer, who plays “the Girl” describes her character as a bit desperate, trying to find “the one.” “She can be sarcastic (she’s faced some bad situations), but she’s also a lot of fun to play. Does she find love? Well there is a twist at the end of the play that will let the audience know that.”

Jared Gibson, “the Guy,” is coming from a world of bad dates including one with a rabid Chicago Bears fan, another with a woman who talks only in internet abbreviations. “Everybody has had them, the bad dates, the embarrassment of bad dates. My character is getting a little desperate. He would just like to find a nice, normal, average girl next door.”

Judging from the characters played by Haley VanAllen and Nicole Hallam, that girl next door is going to be pretty hard to find.

“My Cleo is a pyschic,” Haley explained. “The problem is she reads feet. Yup, she’s pretty insane, definitely ditzy. Her version of seeing the future is to say ‘I saw I was going to fail the math exam, and guess what? I did!’”

Does she find love?

“I think we might have to wait for the Cleo spin off,” Jared said straight-faced.

Nicole Hallam’s Mary is the kind of girl who shows up on a blind date carrying a Brides magazine under her arm.

“She has her entire wedding planned, from church and reception to the honeymoon. The only catch: no groom,” Nicole explained. “What she’s really looking for is a guy who will fit into the tuxedo. Thirty seconds into the date, she’s asking the guy if he’d like to help her pick out the wedding dress. She’s hilarious.”

“The script for Check, Please! is very funny, and very well written,” Haley said. “Everyone can relate to these characters, and not feel so bad about their own dating experiences.”

“Everything that can go wrong, does, in this play,” added Nicole.

“Think of worst case scenarios and then think how funny they can be,” Jared said.

“It’s really a laugh out loud play,” Rebecca said. “We all still laugh even in our rehearsals.”

The dinner theatre is being sponsored by the SDHS parents council. The funds raised, including those coming from the silent auction, will go towards new technology for the school. Tickets are $10 per person for the delicious lasagna dinner and the show, and are available in advance by calling 613-652-4878.

Come out on Friday, May 11, to share the laughter and memories of first dates.